“Cables, Bobbles, and Braids” is one of my workshops at the Wool Festival at Taos (and, I hope, at some other venues in 2007). The workshop samples are coming along nicely. I’m really proud of this sample, because it shows how cable stitches are related.
Use your hand or a piece of paper to cover the top part of the sample. You will see two simple cables going up the swatch. They twist in different directions. Okay, now move your hand or the paper to cover the left side of the sample. You should see one cable going merrily up the length of the swatch.
Now look at the whole swatch. Do you see how the two simple cables join up to become a different kind of cable? Barbara Walker calls it the “Horseshoe Cable” or “Double Cable,” but it’s really two regular cables, side-by-side, twisting in opposite directions.
In my workshops, I try to show people how to see relationships among stitch patterns in knitting. It amounts to seeing, with your brain fully engaged. Just like any subject, when you develop a deeper understanding, you are able to appreciate it in a new and satisfying way. Yes, you can enjoy knitting even more than you already do!
We have six hours in the Taos class, so we’re going beyond the basics. To begin, we’ll knit cable, bobble, and braid samples. Then we will design a cable sweater together. Finally, we’re going to design our own cable pattern stitch, either as a class or individually.
Does this intrigue you? Well, you still have a few days to sign up for workshops at Taos, without a late fee.